A systems analysis of complex software product development dynamics and methods

Software development projects and products have long shouldered a reputation for missed deadlines, blown budgets, and low quality. Unfortunately, this negative reputation appears to be supported by more than just anecdotal evidence; quoting an industry study', respected software development expert and author Steve McConnell reports in his book Professional Software Development" that "Roughly 25 percent of all projects fail outright, and the typical project is 100 percent over budget at the point it's canceled." What's more, notes McConnell, "Fifty percent of projects are delivered late, over-budget, or with less functionality than desired." Exactly why software development projects and products have historically performed so poorly and with arguably little if any improvement over the past 40 years, however, is a subject on which there is less agreement. While blame often aligns along functional (product marketing and sales) versus technical (software development) lines, the increasing popularity of different and often contradictory software development methodologies seems to suggest that no real consensus exists within the software development community itself. The goal of this thesis is twofold: 1. To describe a set of key factors to consider when analyzing software processes 2. To outline an organizational framework that is optimized for implementing and managing software development practices

Department dc:contributor.department

System Design and Management Program.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Russell, Gregory B. (Gregory Brian)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Michael A. Cusumano.

• System Design and Management Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42371

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/42371